A Note Regarding Resources: Items are listed on this page that enhance work with the topic discussed. Some older items, especially, may include dated practices and ideas that are no longer generally accepted. Resources reflecting current practices are noted whenever possible
Student Reading
Cox, Clinton. Undying Glory: The Story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1991.
Excellent intermediate to advanced student reading on this black Civil War regiment. Includes a good index and very good bibliography for students and adults.
Miller, Major Donald L. An Album of Black Americans in the Armed Forces. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1969.
Simple and informative reading.
Smith, Carter, ed. The Road to Appomattox. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, 1993.
This is volume four of the Sourcebooks on the Civil War Series. The series includes documents, photographs, and illustrations from the Library of Congress. Highly recommended for students and adults.
General Sources
Cornish, Dudley Taylor, The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861-1865. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1956.
Using primary sources, Cornish weaves together an overview of black soldiers’ activities during the Civil War.
Gladstone, William A. United States Colored Troops, 1863-1867. Gettysburg, PA.: Thomas Publications, 1990.
Reproduces several documents and photographs of black soldiers during the Civil War.
Glatthaar, Joseph T. Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers. New York: The Free Press, 1990.
Discusses relationships between white officers and black soldiers from recruitment through aspects of the war experience.
Guernsey, Alfred H., and Henry M. Alden. Harper’s Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion, 2 parts. New York: Harper & Bros., 1866, 1868.
Includes numerous sketches drawn during the war and historical accounts of events.
Hargrove, Hondon B. Black Union Soldiers in the Civil War. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1988.
Informative look at the black experience during the war.
Leslie, Frank. Scenes and Portraits of the Civil War. New York: Mrs. Frank Leslie, Publisher, 1894.
Collection of Civil War sketches that appeared in Leslie’s paper.
Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the Civil War. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1969.
Interesting history which examines blacks’ roles in the Civil War and in the general political climate as they moved toward freedom.
Redkey, Edwin S., ed. A Grand Army of Black Men. Cambridge: University Press, 1992.
Personal look at the Civil War through black Union soldiers’ letters.
Terrell, W. H. H. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, 8 volumes. Indianapolis: Alexander H. Conner, State Printer, 1869.
Valuable statistical information and reports.
Thornbrough, Emma Lou. Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850-1880. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and Indiana Historical Society, 1965; reprinted, 1992.
Standard source on Indiana history during this period.
__________. The Negro in Indiana. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1957; reprinted 1993.
This valuable volume includes the “Civil War Years.” It provides important context about attitudes and activities with regard to blacks and black soldiers.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 volumes. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893.
Essential resource for the comprehensive study of the Civil War.
Early Histories
Brown, William Wells. The Negro in the American Rebellion. New York: The Citadel Press, 1971. First published in 1867.
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth. Army Life in a Black Regiment. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1984. First published in 1869.
Wilson, Joseph Thomas. The Black Phalanx. New York: Arno Press, 1968. First published in 1892.
These books provide valuable early perspectives but are generally undocumented.